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Addressing Chronic Pain

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Many Americans suffer with one or more types of pain on a regular basis. In some cases, this pain is chronic and interferes with an individual/s quality of life.

In addition to suffering, this costs a loss of income to these individuals as well as a loss in work-oriented productivity. It is estimated that chronic pain costs $100 billion every year. In addition to the cost of health care, this includes a loss of income and productivity.

A recent survey showed that over half of the people participating didn’t feel they had any control over their pain. Approximately 60% of these individuals also reported that they had breakthrough pain at least once a day. Furthermore, this made a profound impact on their overall well-being and quality of life.

Adults 20 years and older have reported experiencing issues with pain as well as pain management. While adults between the ages of 20-to-44 have reported experiencing pain, approximately 21% of adults 65 and older were the least likely to report that they experienced regular pain.

Approximately 76.5 million people have reported they have had to endure this pain for over 24 hours. Within the 45-to-64 age bracket, 30% have reported experiencing pain for longer than 24 hours.

The National Institutes of Health conducted a survey where they found that 27% of people in the United States suffered with low back pain, while 15% suffered with headaches or migraines. It is estimated that over 26 million people between the ages of 20-to-64 experience back pain, which costs a minimum of $50 billion a year in attempts to alleviate it.

One of the most common types of pain is headaches, followed by back pain, arthritis, and other musculoskeletal pain. These types of conditions are responsible for a loss of productivity on a weekly basis, and over half of the respondents indicated that they had experienced these types of pain within the past two weeks. On average, this amounts to a weekly loss of 4.6 hours.

In addition to missing work or experiencing a decrease in productivity while at work, pain sufferers report additional issues associated with this pain:

    Feeling depressed: 77%
    Having difficulty concentrating: 70%
    Experiencing a loss of energy: 74%
    Having sleep issues: 86%

When you are suffering with one of more types of chronic pain, you may want to start visiting a pain clinic to discover what is causing it. Furthermore, when you visit a pain clinic, a chiropractor, osteopath, or another type of medical professional, will be able to provide a diagnosis and create a treatment plan.

If you’re not sure what a pain clinic can do for you, or are curious about a pain clinic definition, these types of clinics can assist you with these and other types of conditions:

    Arthritis
    Gout
    Chronic back pain
    Chronic head aches
    Chronic knee pain
    Chronic knee swelling
    Chronic lower back pain
    Chronic migraines
    Chronic tension headaches
    Brain peripheral neuropathy
    Central nervous system neuropathy
    Diabetic neuropathy
    Peripheral neuropathy

When providing a pain clinic definition, it’s important to note the doctors working in this area of medicine specialize in pain management. Furthermore, once you visit a local health center, you will be able to discuss your chronic pain and other issues with a professional that can provide more information for you about a pain clinic definition.

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7 Signs You Might Suffer From Sleep Apnea

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If you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, then you will likely be on the hunt for CPAP machines for sale and various ResMed CPAP supplies. There are three different types of sleep apnea but all can be controlled with ResMed CPAP supplies and machines. If you have not been diagnosed but think you might suffer from sleep apnea, here are a few of the symptoms that you can look out for.

Snoring
People who have sleep apnea will snore. This is probably the most common symptom that you will experience. If your partner complains that you know so loudly that it is disruptive to their sleep, it could be that you have sleep apnea. This kind of snoring differs from regular snoring. It is commonly very loud and accompanied by choking sounds. It is not typically rhythmic or ‘background noise’ sounding but is hard to ignore.

Breathing Pauses
Sleep apnea is actually defined by frequent pauses in sleep. This is because the tissues in the throat get relaxed when you sleep and fall into your airway. This restricts airflow and can make you stop breathing for a couple of seconds. It also causes the oxygen in your blood to drop which alerts your brain to wake and jump start your breathing again. You may not even remember waking up so much during the night, even though your brain is waking up.

Tiredness
Even though you may not remember that you wake up, you will probably find yourself feeling incredibly tired all the time. If you are in bed, thinking you are sleeping for seven to night hours a night, if you have sleep apnea, the constant interrupting of your sleep will result in excessive daytime fatigue which makes it hard to wake up in the morning or generate energy or focus on your daily tasks. You may even find yourself dozing off at bad times like when you are driving or sitting at your desk. If this is the case, you may want to talk to your doctor about getting you ResMed CPAP supplies and a machine to help you sleep better.

Headaches
These are commonly reported before finding out that a patient has sleep apnea. The less you breathe, the less oxygen is getting to your brain. This can cause vascular headaches because of the blood vessels widening during the night. Headaches alone are not a very good indication of sleep apnea but if you suffer from them as well as daytime sleepiness and the other symptoms, it might be a good indication.

High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure can also be a result of your brain not receiving enough oxygen in the blood. When your body is having to fight to get blood to flow properly in your system, your body will gets used to the vessels having restricted blood flow and will equate out to high blood pressure even during the day.

Being Overweight
Very often, sleep apnea sufferers are overweight. Excess fatty tissues are what cause a person to stop breathing so it makes sense. If your neck is larger than 17 inches for men and 16 inches for women that you are going to be more at risk for sleep apnea.

Mood Swings
Even if you don’t have sleep apnea, lack of sleep can make a person very irritable. It makes things seem to be a much bigger deal. So, it only stands to reason that if you are not sleeping well every single night that you would be a lot more prone to mood swings. But these mood swings are not limited to simply feeling annoyed. They can develop into depression and anxiety.

Now keep in mind that just because you have a few of these symptoms, you don’t need to rush out and find all of the ResMed CPAP supplies that you have available to you. On the contrary, your doctor may have some alternative treatment methods for you, depending on the severity of your situation. If you find yourself fitting into these categories, talk to your doctor and schedule a sleep study and then you can go from there after you get back the test results. It’s important to deal with it if you have it but don’t assume that’s the case just because you snore.

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The Convenience of Urgent Care for Your Holiday Medical Concerns

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The holidays bring a lot of excitement, happiness, and togetherness. However, the holiday season is also a common time for injuries, accidents, and emergency care. People tend to travel and interact more, sometimes celebrating a little too hard, leading to after hours physicians visits. This holiday season, when you are remembering to be safe, also remember the convenience and high quality medical care of local urgent care centers. Urgent care centers tend to provide more convenient of office hours, and a higher quality of service than emergency rooms. Keep your urgent care center in mind when dealing with the following holiday concerns.

Burns and cuts The holidays are a time of entertaining. People spend many hours over the stove, preparing for their holiday meals. Because of the increase in cooking, more people experience cuts and burns during this time. Most burns and cuts can be handled at home with over the counter products, however, some require medical attention. If you are worried about a bad burn or a deep cut, visit your local urgent care center for appropriate care.

You will find that roughly 60% of all urgent care centers have a wait time of less than 15 minutes to see a physician or mid level provider, and 65% have a physician on site at all times. Most cuts and burns simply require a few stitches or prescription strength burn cream, so you will be pleased with the convenience and speed of the urgent care center.

Slips and falls The holiday season occurs over the winter months. This provides more dangerous driving conditions and slippery walkways and sidewalks. Always be sure to salt your sidewalks when entertaining. If you are visiting family during winter weather conditions, consider wearing boots with a good grip. If you do experience a slip or fall, monitor your situation and visit your local urgent care center.

However, if you injure your back or neck, you should consider calling for an ambulance. Urgent care centers are suitable for ankle, leg, or wrist pains. Many urgent care centers even have advanced diagnostic and laboratory services to properly diagnose your fall condition. Nearly all urgent care centers operate seven days a week (97%) and are open at least 4 hours per day (99%), making it likely that you will find something open after your icy fall.

Baby and young child care You may be taking your baby out into the cold more than often. They will be around more people than ever, making illness more possible. It is also possible that your concern about comprehensive specialized pediatric care is not even related to the holidays, but instead the fact that your pediatricians office has less open hours during the holidays. Many urgent care centers have the ability to provide comprehensive specialized pediatric care services. Sometimes, they are better able to handle comprehensive specialized pediatric care than your local emergency centers are.

Auto accident care The holidays bring more drivers on the road, visiting loved ones who may live far away. There may be an increase in auto accidents. If you are in a serious auto accident, call for an ambulance. If, however, you want a routine medical check up following a minor accident, visit your local urgent care center. Here, you can receive convenient medical treatment that can get you quickly on your way to your next holiday celebration.

It is also likely that your local urgent care center is more affordable for routine checkups. Urgent care centers are much more affordable than your local emergency centers, regardless if it is for comprehensive specialized pediatric care or an auto accident checkup. An urgent care treatable case handled in a hospital emergency room costs an average of $2,039, while the same case treated in an urgent care facility would run approximately $226.

As the holiday season quickly approaches, you will want to keep safe driving and cooking habits in mind. The holidays are an increased time for emergency room visits, because of more cooking and icy road conditions. When you do experience a medical concern, consider visiting your local urgent care center. You will find that it is more affordable, more convenient, and quicker.

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Do You Often Find Yourself Looking for Medical Care After Normal Business Hours?

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Don’t kids have the craziest sense of timing? They seem to never complain about an ache or pain during normal doctor’s office hours. Instead, they come into your room in the middle of the night, or into the kitchen on a sunday afternoon and claim that they need medical attention. And while sometimes these young patients may be putting on a show, more times than not you find yourself in need of urgent care for kids. Whether you are in need of urgent care for kids or adults, it often makes more sense to get the medical help that you need sooner rather than later.
Injured on the weekend!

  • Stomach flu like symptoms that have left your youngest son weak. You fear he is nearly dehydrated.
  • Ice skating fall that seems to have ended into a sprained ankle. Keeping your fingers crossed that it is not broken.
  • Croupy cough that is keeping your infant from getting any sleep.
  • Kickball game collision that may have resulted in a concussion.


  • Oven burn on your wrist when you were a little to careless getting the holiday turkey out.
  • Right wrist injury from a downhill skateboarding ride that went to a little bit out of control.
  • Internal temperature of more than 104.
  • Night time fever that will not break even after you have tried cool clothes for the last two hours.
  • Jet lag that seems to have been lasting too long. You are afraid that the exhaustion you have been experiencing after the
  • Uunusual rash that seems to be spreading from your baby daughter?s stomach onto her arms and legs.
  • Red swollen circle around an area that looks like it could be the site of a spider bite.
  • Exercise induced asthma that has not responded to your daughter?s inhaler.
  • Diarrhea that started late on Friday night and has been nearly continuous for 24 hours. Your three year old is getting more and more weak.



  • Odd lump that has developed at the site of a puncture wound when your husband was working in his wood shop.
  • Night time stomach cramps that do not seem to go away.



  • Tonsillitis pain that seems to be getting worse even though your pediatrician prescribed some medicine that should have started working within the first 12 hours.
  • Hives that seem to be caused by an allergic reaction to a insect sting.
  • Elevated concern about the swelling that has occurred since your son twisted his ankle at his Saturday morning soccer game.



  • Weekend warrior injury after your husband spent Sunday afternoon playing football with his friends.
  • Eye infection that is causing your vision to be blurry.
  • Ear pain that you think might be an indicator of a possible ear infection.
  • Knife injury from when you were cutting onions for the big family get together.
  • Eye irritation and swelling.
  • Nasal congestion that is keeping you from getting even an hour of rest.
  • Dehydration caused by excessive vomiting.

The best thing about urgent care for kids, teens, and adults may be its affordability. In fact, emergency room visits can be extremely high when compared to walk-in urgent care costs. For instance, a case that could have been handled in a urgent care for kids or adults that ends up instead at a hospital emergency room costs an average of $2,039. That same case at an urgent care facility might only cost $226.
In addition to being a more economical way to seek medical treatment, urgent care visits can also be more efficient. In some cases it is not even possible to get a same day appointment at a family doctor or pediatrician’s office. An emergency room will, on the other hand, get you in but this is not until the other more serious patients have been treated. And while an ear infection may not be as serious as a neck injury, waiting through the triage protocol in an ER room when you have a young child can be unbearable.
No one really wants to get sick, and no one wants to get hurt. When you do, however, require medical attention, an urgent care setting is often a wise choice. With more than 20,000 physicians practicing Urgent Care Medicine today, urgent care professionals have developed urgent care medicine into an important, recognized specialty platform that represents this fast growing medical field.

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I Don’t Have Insurance Can I Still Get Treatment For Minor Injuries And Illnesses?

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Do you have a form of insurance? Are you still searching for healthcare? Whether you’re uninsured, your full-time job covers your healthcare expenses or you’ve applied for a form of state insurance, knowing how to take advantage of urgent care and clinics will be one of the most beneficial additions to your day-to-day life. Below is a comprehensive list on the difference between urgent care, emergency rooms and hospitals, all the better to assist you with treatment and ensure you’re healthy all days of the year.

What Is Urgent Care?

There is a noticeable difference between hospitals, urgent care and clinics. Knowing this difference will ensure you save money while getting the treatment you need. A hospital is a medical resource that addresses everything from minor to severe injuries and illnesses — due to demand the wait times are usually long and can see you paying significant medical costs. Urgent care, on the other hand, is explicitly created to offer quick treatment options for minor to moderate injuries and illnesses. While some models include both emergency room facilities and urgent care treatment, it’s important to know the difference before you make the trip.

What Are Minor Injuries And Illnesses?

Not sure what might be a proper reason to see your urgent care and clinics? Some of the most common reasons Americans circumvent a scheduled doctor’s visit in favor of a quick trip to emergency care include, but are not limited to — minor burns, back pain, abdominal pain, cuts, allergic reactions, sprains, twisted ankles and bruises. The average urgent care center saw a whopping 342 patients per week as of 2011, thanks to ongoing studies by the Urgent Care Association Of America. The average center has also seen an increase of around 28 additional patients per month over the past few years.

How Is The Industry Faring?

American healthcare has seen significant changes over the past handful of years. As a result more and more urgent care and clinics have been cropping up to meet the influx of uninsured and insured people alike seeking care. The United States will likely need at least 52,000 additional primary care physicians by the time 2025 rolls around to meet the country’s increasing population and growing healthcare concerns — this conclusion has been reached by a team of researches in a recent article addressing workforce needs.

How Often Is Urgent Care Available?

There’s no need to worry about the availability of your local urgent care and clinics. There are over 9,000 walk-in urgent care clinics across the country. Nearly all urgent care centers back in 2014 operate seven days per week, totaling up to 97%, and are open at least four hours out of the day. Urgent care clinics will average at seven exam or treatment rooms per facility and wait times don’t exceed more than 15 to 20 minutes for over 60% of available centers.

Why Should I Use An Urgent Care Center?

When you can’t wait to visit the doctor and a hospital is too expensive, an urgent care center can see to your minor to moderate injuries and illnesses in a short time span while saving you on costs. According to a report by Truven Health Analytics, a stunning 70% of emergency department visits from patients with consumer-sponsored insurance coverage were easily prevented through outpatient procedures. Another private study saw at least 44% of all emergency room episodes able to be treated at an urgent care clinic. When you need assistance and a little peace of mind, urgent care and clinics are there to help.